GOT Fish ID Revised February, 26, 2016 South Carolina Aquarium Dive Operaons Arnold Postell Dive Safety Officer / Senior Biologist (843) 579-8536 [email protected] Ryan Yuen Assistant Dive Safety Officer (843) 579-8503 [email protected] 2 It is the mission of the South Carolina Aquarium (SCA) Dive Team to provide excellence in animal care and husbandry, to actively support both the educational and conservation endeavors of the SCA, and to provide a memorable, positive guest experience to all those who visit our facility. 3 Training Schedule • PowerPoint Presentaon > Statement of Understanding and Quiz 4 Almaco Jack Seriola rivoliana • Relaves: member of the family Caragidae • Descripon: Their dorsal fin and anal fins are elongated and their outer edges have a definite sickle shape. Generally dusky-colored with faint amber or olive stripes down the sides. Their upper bodied and lower fins are dark brown. • Size: Grows up to 35 in Weight: 132 lb • Habitat: Small groups on slopes and off of reefs. • Habitat-GOT: • Diet: • Diet-GOT: 5 AmberJack (Greater) Seriola dumerili • Relaves: members of the Jack—Carangidae family • Descripon: Diagonal band runs from lip, across eye to beginning of dorsal fin. Can lighten when in feeding mode. Silvery; fins may have yellow cast. Oen have yellowish stripe along mid body. • Size: maximum 5½ feet Weight: 40-140 pounds • Habitat: open-water fish; rarely swim over reefs. Oen in large schools. • Habitat-GOT: All levels • Diet: • Die-GOT: mackerel, smelt, squid, capelin 6 Banded Rudderfish Seriola zonata • Relaves: Jack and pompanos • Descripon: Juveniles are banded vercally like piloish, and follow large objects or animals. Large individuals (over 10 inches) have no bands. • Size: Grows up to 30 inches (75 cm) • Habitat: Adults are pelagic or epibenthic and confined to coastal waters over the connental shelf. • Habitat-GOT: • Diet: Feeds on fishes and shrimps. • Diet-GOT: 7 Bar Jack Caranx ruber • Relaves: Member of the Jack and pompanos • Descripon: dark horizontal bar which runs along the back and down the caudal fin, oen accompanied by an electric blue stripe immediately below it. Usually in schools which may be spawning groups; occasionally solitary. • Size: Grows up to 50 cm • Habitat: Common in clear insular areas or in coral reefs off mainland coasts • Habitat-GOT: • Diet: Feeds on fishes, shrimps and other invertebrates. • Diet-GOT: 8 Barracuda Sphyraena barracuda • Relaves: Barracuda—Sphyraenidae family • Descripon: Silver. Long, cylindrical body. Large underslung jaw, pointed teeth. Usually scaered dark blotches. Can darken showing side bands. Dorsal fins widely separated. • Size: 1½—3 feet. Maximum 6 feet Weight: up to 100 pounds • Habitat: Dri around reefs and other habitats. Solitary or in small groups. Open and close mouth to assist respiraon. • Habitat-GOT: Upper level of exhibit • Diet: Other fish • Diet-GOT: mackerel, smelt, squid 9 Belted Sandfish Serranus subligarius • Relaves: Member of the Sea bass family • Descripon: Stubby sea bass with a pointed snout. • Size: Grows up to 4 inches (10cm) • Habitat: Occurs from water's edge to at least 18 m depth, oen in silty water. • Habitat-GOT: • Diet: • Diet-GOT: 10 Bermuda chub Kyphosus sectatrix • Relaves: Member of the sea chubs • Descripon: Gray overall, with faint yellow lines on side and yellow line from corner of mouth to preopercle. • Size: Grows up to 50 cm • Habitat: Inhabits shallow waters, over turtle grass, sand or rocky boom and around coral reefs • Habitat-GOT: • Diet: Feeds on plants, mainly on benthic algae, as well as on small crabs and mollusks • Diet-GOT: 11 Black Drum Pogonias cromis • Relaves: members of the Drum-Sciaenidae family • Descripon: Dark gray to silvery with large scales; fins blackish; usually have four to five broad dark bars; long chin barbels (whiskers). • Size: maximum length about 5 feet Weight: up to 110 pounds • Habitat: Found in depths of 1-60 feet; inhabit sand, mud, rocky booms oen near shore lines, piers, docks • Habitat-GOT: all levels • Diet: small fish, crustaceans, oysters • Diet-GOT: mackerel, squid, capelin, smelt 12 Black Sea Bass Centropriss striata • Relaves: member of the Serranidae (sea bass) family • Descripon: medium sized with blue/black to brown body; centers of scales are white giving appearance of narrow stripes on the sides of the body; female has white area on nape • Size: up to 2 feet Weight: averages 5 pounds • Habitat: seen 6-120 feet; rock jees, shallow rocky boloms • Habitat-GOT: seen at all levels • Diet: crabs, shrimp, worms, clams, small fish • Diet-GOT mackerel, smelt, squid 13 Blackp Shark Carcharhinus limbatus • Relaves: Member of the Requiem sharks • Descripon: Dark grey, ashy blue or dusky bronze on back, belly white or yellowish white; a dark band extending rearward along each side to about over origin of pelvic fin; ps of pelvic fins with a persistent black spot; ps of dorsal fins, pectoral fins, anal, and lower lobe of caudal fin usually black • Size: 5 feet (1.5m) 122.5 kg largest recorded at 8.5 feet • Habitat: An inshore and offshore shark found on or adjacent to connental and insular shelves. Oen off river mouths and estuaries, muddy bays, mangrove swamps, lagoons, and coral reef drop-offs • Habitat-GOT: • Diet: Feeds mainly on pelagic and benthic fishes, also small sharks and rays, cephalopods and crustaceans • Diet-GOT: Salmon, Mackerel 14 Blue AngelFish Holacanthus bermudensis • Relaves: member of the family angelfishes • Descripon: So parts of dorsal and anal fins and caudal fins have wide yellow margins. Dark spot on forehead lacks electric blue ring. Their bodies are compressed and discus-shaped with blunt rounded heads and a single long connuous dorsal fin. • Size: • Habitat: Inhabits rocky or coral reefs • Habitat-GOT: • Diet: Sponges • Diet-GOT: 15 Blue runner Caranx crysos • Relaves: Member of the jack family • Descripon: bluish green to olive green dorsally, becoming silvery grey to brassy below. elongated, moderately compressed body. • Size: 40 cm • Habitat: Atlanc ocean. Inhabits both inshore and offshore environments. Schooling predatory fish. • Habitat-GOT: • Diet: Feed on fishes, shrimps, and other invertebrates • Diet-GOT: 16 Cobia Rachyeentron canadum • Relaves: sole member of the Rachycentridae family • Descripon: torpedo shaped body, brownish, elongated fish with stocky body, broad later strip, low and long dorsal/anal fin; lower jaw protrudes slightly • Size: up to 6 feet Weight: 30-100 pounds • Habitat: seen 0-60 feet; coastal to open water, hovers below anchored ships and floang buoys • Habitat-GOT: seen at all levels • Diet: crabs, fish, squid • Diet-GOT mackerel, smelt, squid 17 Crevalle Jack Caranx hippos • Relaves: member of the Carangidae family (including pompanos) • Descripon: bluish green to greenish gold back and silvery or yellow belly; black spot on operculum (gill cover) and base of each pectoral • Size: up to 3½ feet Weight: averages 50 pounds • Habitat: open waters 0-130 feet; usually over reefs, swim in schools; may school with Horse- Eye Jacks • Habitat-GOT: seen at all levels • Diet: small fish, shrimp, other invertebrates • Diet-GOT mackerel, smelt, squid, shrimp 18 Gag Grouper Mycteroperca microlepis • Relaves: member of Grouper/Seabass- Serranidae family • Descripon: pale to dark gray or olive-gray; dusky blotched (marbled effect) markings give body a marbled appearance; pelvic, anal, and caudal fins are blackish with blue outer edges • Size: maximum 3 feet Weight: up to 50 pounds (average is 25 pounds) • Habitat: rocky outcroppings, ledges, reefs; dri near boom; depths of 20-100 feet • Habitat-GOT: lower poron of tall window • Diet: small fish, crustaceans • Diet-GOT: smelt, capelin, mackerel 19 Gray Angelfish Pomacanthus arcuatus • Relaves: Angelfish Pomacanthidae family • Descripon: Gray body; yellow inner face of pectoral fin. Square-cut tail. Intermediate phase has three pale body bars and one on base of tail. The juvenile is black with three yellow bars on body and one on foretail. Yellow band extends down from forehead and across lips to chin; there is also yellow ring around border of lips. The juvenile has a square-cut tail with white to transparent margin.Uniformly gray to grayish brown with light-edged scales • Size:10-18 inches Weight: • Habitat: swim about reefs, oen pairs. Juveniles inhabit shallow patch reefs and grassy areas. May engage in cleaning parasites and debris from larger fish. • Habitat GOT: upper level. Oen seen hiding around coral at large window • Diet: crustaceans • Diet GOT: shrimp, krill, collards 20 Gray Snapper Lutjanus griseus • Relaves: member of Snapper-Lutjanidae family • Descripon: color varies from pale to dark gray or reddish brown; somemes nged with olive; dorsal fins oen have dark borders; snout is long and pointed; dorsal profile of head slightly concave; large pair of canine teeth in upper jaw • Size: maximum length of 2 feet Weight: up to 10 pounds • Habitat: dri in small schools; inhabit shallow inshore areas, under docks; can be found in depths from 2-60 feet • Habitat-GOT: upper reef of shallow window • Diet: crustaceans, small fish • Diet-GOT: mackerel, capelin, smelt 21 Gray triggerfish Balistes capriscus • Relaves: Member of the triggerfish family • Descripon: Three faint irregular broad dark bars on body; a narrow pale transverse band on chin; small light blue spots on upper half of body and median fins, and irregular short lines ventrally • Size: 44 cm • Habitat: Inhabits bays, harbors, lagoons, and seaward reefs • Habitat-GOT: • Diet:Feeds on benthic invertebrates like mollusks and crustaceans • Diet-GOT: 22 Graysby Grouper Cephalopholis cruentata • Relaves: Member of the sea bass family • Descripon :Opercle with 3 flat spines, middle one the largest and upper spine longer than the lowest. Has 4 contrasng spots, white or black, along body below dorsal fin base • Size: • Habitat:Inhabit Thalassia beds and coral reefs. Solitary and secreve, they usually stay near hiding places during the day. • Habitat-GOT: • Diet: Adults feed mainly on fishes, with preference on Chromis mullineata, juveniles feed on shrimps.